Lionsgate
Author Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books have been terrifying children since 1981 with macabre tales accompanied by unforgettable, eerie illustrations by Stephen Gammell. In truth, one of these illustrations – specifically, the one included in the first book’s story “The Haunted House” – still shakes me interminably; I cannot look […]
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My memories of The Spy Who Dumped Me go like this: ACTION SCENE. Okay, that’s kinda neat. Quiet establishing scene. Wait, is that supposed to be funny? MORE BIG BOOM. Okay, this is a comedy, so why am I not laughing? MORE BOOM. Hey, we have a butt shot – oh, and there’s a big, […]
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Growing up, I didn’t know the difference between a “scary movie” and a “horror film.” I kinda still don’t, but Ghost Stories made me realize just how vast that difference is. Everyone knows “scary movies” – the kind where the mysterious killer stalks and slashes the good-looking teenagers, the funhouse-type frights make you and your […]
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So this psychic hooks up with the FBI to catch a serial killer… oh, you’ve heard this one before? But wait, there’s more. “Solace” is almost a carbon copy of David Fincher’s “Se7en”. Except instead of killing people for their sins, this psycho is mercy-killing the terminally ill. But hold on, here’s the interesting part: […]
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Two years ago, I reviewed Thunder and the House of Magic, an animated film which wore its “Hey, kids! Here’s a lesson, now swallow it!” ethos on its 3D sleeve. I’d given it points for having its heart in the right place, but not much else. Now, one of that film’s directors and the production company are […]
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In many ways, the 19th century-set “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is more satirical of the current YA trend than it is of Jane Austen’s novel. Its star, Cinderella-turned-brunette Lily James, is indeed the young warrior type that we’ve seen in the “Divergent” and “Hunger Games” series, but her character’s intellect, as written by Austen, remains fully intact. […]
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The story of Ocean County detective Laurel Hester is easily found on the internet and in newspaper clippings. A 23-year-veteran of the local police force, Laurel was diagnosed with rapidly spreading end-stage cancer, living her remaining time with her partner of five years, Stacie Andree, to whom Laurel willed her pension and the house they […]
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Usually, the best movies rely on subtext and nuance, leaving things for you to rediscover upon rewatching them. Other films make their statements like a boxer’s jab to the chest before stepping back and waiting to make their next move. The down-and-dirty Cooties is one of the latter films, being passable and enjoyable enough, but […]
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Keanu Reeves plays a vengeful ex-hitman who shoots, pummels and skewers his way through NYC’s Russian mafia to get to the men responsible for stealing his car and killing his dog in “John Wick”, which takes place mostly in seedy underground nightclubs and a rustic hotel that provides safe haven for folks of his ilk — basically, […]
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Spooky Movie Festival 2014: “Exists” reviewed
Wherever this resurgence of interest in the Bigfoot legend spawned from, it seems to be working in favor of found-footage horror films. Last year, it was Bobcat Goldthwait’s “Willow Creek”, a suspenseful, surprisingly charming slow-burn that followed a young couple into the titular Pacific Northwest wilderness in hopes of capturing the beast on video. While of the same […]
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